Making Up for Lost Time!!

It's been two and a half weeks since I returned home to Jackson from my time in Nashville following my liver transplant.  In those two weeks I think I've been busier and gotten more done than I had the entire six months leading up to my surgery!!  Whew!  It's true what they told me---I really do feel like I got a new engine put inside of me!  Don't get me wrong, I definitely get very tired very fast, but at least when I wake up in the morning I start out feeling GOOD, versus the way I used to feel which caused me to pretty much dread the day ahead.  I am still weak on my feet, a little shaky (thanks to the meds) and I am having a pretty good deal of pain as my nerve endings start to reconnect.  BUT....As you're about to see, that hasn't stopped me from pushing myself to the limits.  Admittedly, I've probably over done it several times already but this new found energy and new outlook on life just makes me want to soak up every moment and enjoy every possible moment with my family and friends.  I spent enough time laying around miserable.....I'm ready to get back to LIFE!  

I'm still hard at work on my series of blog posts documenting my transplant journey.  Have no fear, they will be posted slowly in a sequence of entries but to be honest, my memory is spotty at best and I am depending on the help of my Mom and Matthew to recall much of my time in the hospital.  Those pain meds were no joke and caused me to lose hours....even DAYS of my memory.  So once again as much as it drives me batty to have these posts out of order, for the sake of staying up to date and not falling completely behind on my blog, I'm going to move forward with what we've been up to the past two weeks since my return home to Jackson.  I'll be back soon with all of the details of my month long stay in Nashville and lots of pictures of my journey to a miracle!  Stay with me!!

Just a few days after I returned to Jackson I met up with my "liver ladies", Ashlie and Lisa along with Ashlie's Mom Dianne and my Mom.  If you'll remember, Ashlie and Lisa both live here in Jackson and have had recent liver transplants as well.  Through a series of miraculous divine interventions I was introduced to both of these special women and they have served as great sources of encouragement and inspiration to me leading up to my transplant and of course during my recovery.  They have answered countless questions, given valuable advice and listened to me whine and cry and complain and just been such a great support system for me.  I couldn't wait to see them following my surgery so we met up for dinner right after I came back to Jackson and hashed out all the details of what had just taken place.  

You're looking at three women who each received the priceless gift of life, but together we represent SIX lives!  Six lives who have been brought together through the selfless act of organ donation.  AMAZING.

And these are our amazing Moms who took care of us (and still take care of us!) and made sure our every need was met.  They never signed up for all of this, yet took on the job of being a full time nurse without hesitation because that's just what Mamas do for their daughters!

About six days after I came home to Jackson and got settled in, Kyndall returned from my in-laws' in Georgia and I was SO HAPPY to finally see her again!!!  It had been about three weeks since I said goodbye to her and although Skype and FaceTime are great, there is no substitute for hugging and squeezing and kissing your baby!!!

Daddy missed his girl

I couldn't get enough of her!  She came home with a pretty bad case of the sniffles but I didn't care---there was no keeping me away!  (I did wear a mask most of the time and we did a lot of hand washing, but I definitely didn't keep any distance!)

The following week while my parents and in-laws were in town we enjoyed some much needed family time.  I did a little bit of resting but mostly I spent as much time as possible doing all of the "mommy things" I had so desperately missed over the past month.  Between trips to the hospital for blood work we squeezed in some shopping, lunch at my favorite restaurant and several fun fall activities.  

One of those activities was a family night hosted by our Sunday School teachers complete with a hayride, bonfire, hot dog and marshmallow roasting, bobbing for apples and some great fellowship with our best friends.  We look forward to this gathering every year and from the time I was admitted to the hospital in September, I made it my goal to be back home in Jackson in order to attend this event.....and I was!  Thanks to the Dements for hosting all of us again this year!  We had a blast!!

The Dements with their sweet Grandbaby, Lee

I was a little scared to participate in the hayride due to the bumps and jolts, so Nonie and Matthew agreed to brave the cold and take the ride with Kyndall

My Parents!

Nathan graciously braved this cesspool of germs and saliva in order to show the kids how it's done

Sweet Tyler wanted to take part in the fun SO badly!!

One of the things I look forward to most every year in the Fall is our family trip to the pumpkin patch.  The hardest thing for me to see during my time spent in the hospital was pictures on social media of families happily making their annual trip to pick out the perfect pumpkin.  It killed me to be laying in a hospital as my favorite time of year just slowly passed me by and all the while everyone around me went on with their lives as usual.  (Ok, enough of that!)  So....one of the first things on my agenda once I got Kyndall back was to take her to the pumpkin patch!  So six days before Halloween we finally had our turn at the local farm and made our memories after all!  It was a great day!

Looking for the perfect pumpkin....

A little help from G-Daddy.....

Prettiest pumpkin in the patch!!

10-25-14......Five weeks post liver transplant!

Just missing Poppie, who had to work back home in Georgia

Still on a mission to find the perfect pumpkin........

After the pumpkin patch, we headed over to the agricultural center to check out a cool pumpkin display we heard about.  It was a great place for pictures, so naturally I indulged!  =)

We enjoyed a yummy dinner at our favorite country buffet where I ate about as much as a 6 month old and left feeling miserably full.  For whatever reason I am still having a lot of pain when I eat and I also can't eat but a few bites before I feel completely full.  It's a great weight loss plan but it really stinks when you just want to pig out on fried chicken and corn bread at your favorite buffet in town!  

When we returned home that night we carved one of the two pumpkins that we chose at the pumpkin patch.  I let Kyndall pick the picture for the pumpkin and she chose a ghost with a bow on it's head.  Appropriate, I suppose!

This is the only picture I was able to get of Kyndall helping clean out the pumpkin....she wanted NOTHING to do with it and was totally grossed out by the "guts".  Yep, she's mine!

Using a Clorox wipe to clean her hands after holding the guts for an entire 3 seconds  =)

And then there was this.......

Happily keeping her distance!

Before......

After!  Good job, Daddy!

Kyndall also chose these "baby" pumpkins at the patch.  Of course, we didn't carve them but she still wanted a picture.

The next morning was an exciting time as our family returned to church for the first time since my surgery.  There is no place I would rather be than in my church, surrounded by my family and closest friends while worshiping the Lord.  It was so good to be back!!

After church Matthew carved Kyndall's other pumpkin and she also got creative with one of her baby pumpkins......

Such a perfectionist!

A rainbow theme, of course!

Her choice for the second pumpkin was the "Bootique" pattern (It was a Minnie Mouse themed kit)

Another one of my most favorite things about Fall is decorating my house.  I look forward to putting out my fall decor each year around the beginning of October.  I was really disappointed to be stuck in the hospital and unable to carry on this tradition.  My sweet friend Rebecca sent me a care package with some decorations for my apartment, which I put up once I was discharged from the hospital.  But, I still couldn't wait to get back to my own home and warm it up with hints of Fall.  I was finally able to do that a few weeks ago.......

Oh yeah!!  I almost forgot---Our new dining room table was delivered while I was in the hospital.  We've lived in this house since last November and just recently picked out a table for the formal dining room.  (We'll probably never use it, but I guess it needs to be there just in case!)  Now I just have to figure out what to put on the walls and pick out a new rug and I can finally cross that part of the house off my to-do list!

Love my new burlap pumpkin from my sweet friends Angela and Julie!!

Finally, Halloween rolled around and thankfully this year it was on a Friday.  We spent the day baking cupcakes and getting ready for a fun night with friends.....

Grammy gave Kyndall a goodie bag full of all kinds of Halloween treats!

When the sun went down, Kyndall transformed into Rainbow Dash and we were off to trick-or-treat with our friends!

It was 40 something degrees and super windy that night so we bundled up tight and braved the cold for a few houses and the sake of some cute pictures!

Stephanie and Luke, Kelsey and Elijah, me and Kyndall, Bethany and Lindy

Lindy the flower

Luke the lion

Elijah was smitten with Rainbow Dash =)

Even newborn baby Ezra came along for the fun!

Elijah the math genius

Our first stop was at Mrs. Pam's house---We LOVE Mrs. Pam!

Kyndall thinks Mrs. Pam hung the moon

(P.S. Look at that adorable puppy!)

Our crew!  Freezing but having fun!!

How cute is this Mama and baby girl?  

We ended the night with our friends by having dinner at Rhodes Diner   Kyndall's favorite meal at Rhodes is always the gi-normous pancake!

Kyndall had fun entertaining Lindy while we ate

 When we finally returned home we put on our warm jammies and decorated the cupcakes we had made earlier in the day.......

And of course, we had to taste them!  (A few of the ponies joined us for our late night snack)

The next day was the long awaited Georgia vs. Florida football game.  Matthew is a Georgia Bulldog at heart so naturally this day was a big deal in our house.  My Dad recently bought Kyndall this Georgia cheerleading outfit and I had been saving it for the big game day.

That same afternoon Kyndall was invited to attend her sweet friend Micah's 5th birthday party.  Micah's Mom Rebecca is by far one of the most creative people I know and I am constantly in awe of the things she comes up with.  She threw Micah the most adorable Veterinarian themed birthday party that I have ever seen!  Each child brought a stuffed animal that needed special care and they were treated at the "animal hospital" and mended back to good health.  It was too cute!

Brushing Rainbow Dash's teeth---This dental hygienist Mommy is proud!  =)

The whole family dressed up! I love it!

Kyndall did not stop talking about the party all night (and, she is STILL talking about it!)  When we came home she wanted to play "nurse" so that's what we did until almost 10:30 that evening!  My little wimp, who cannot even watch as my finger is pricked for blood sugar draws and turns green at the sight of bodily fluids has suddenly found a new passion for nursing!  Who knew?!

When I asked her what was wrong with Rainbow Dash she said "Well......she needs a new liver."  I asked her where the liver would come from and she said "Pinky Pie (another pony) will give it to her.  She knows how to make them". 

It was another COLD night so Matthew built us a fire on the patio and we roasted hot dogs for dinner!  We also roasted marshmallows for dessert.  FUN!

This is my "I'm freezing" face!

So as you can see, we've been BUSY BUSY BUSY!  But, that's the way I like it most of the time.  I spent plenty of days laying around in the hospital doing NOTHING and being bored to tears, literally.  I know I am probably doing too much too soon but so far my body seems to be able to keep up with my demands and I am feeling ok.  I think that by the time the holidays come around I will finally feel like a completely new person and have all of my energy back.  I hope so, anyway!

Oh, a few more pictures----These are just a few recent shots I pulled off my phone that I wanted to keep.....

Kyndall and her classmates on Thursday October 30th, getting ready for the costume parade through the church offices at Englewood

Matthew has been itching to get Kyndall signed up for soccer, so this past Saturday morning he took her out and bought her an age appropriate soccer ball (I thought they were all the same size but apparently not....???) and a pair of pink cleats.  He's hoping to get her interested in the sport and then sign her up in the Spring.  This Mama isn't too sure about all this sports nonsense but I guess I need to let her find her passion.  I just secretly hope it's dance or gymnastics!

Sunday morning before church----Snuggles with Daddy

My sweet little nephew Wyatt is growing like a weed!!  I haven't seen him since they were here for my transplant and I am dying to get my hands on him.  Kelly is really good about sending me pictures almost every day and here are a few of my recent favorites.......

That face!!  Aunt Sissy would give him whatever he wanted!

Getting so big!

A funny story about Wyatt----Yesterday I picked Kyndall up in the pre-school after church and she was showing me all of her creations that she made.  One of them was a pumpkin with lots of "thankful" phrases written on it.  She came up with them herself and the teacher wrote them down.  Kyndall's said things like.......

I am thankful for my hair

I am thankful for my crayons

I am thankful for my toys

I am thankful for Mommy and Daddy

I am thankful for my hair bows

I am thankful for MY BROTHER

Hold the phone!!  What?!  Last time I checked there were no "brothers" in this family!  I asked her who her brother was and she signed said "Mommy...!  You know!  Wyatt!"  Ha!  I guess we need to spend some time explaining the family tree, huh?  

This week is already shaping up to be just as busy as the last few so I'm sure I'll be back again soon with more pictures and updates.  Wednesday my Mom and I will travel to Nashville to have a follow up with my surgeon and my liver team.  I'm anxious to see him and find out his opinion of my progress thus far.  The burning question on my mind is whether or not he's going to release me to travel home for Thanksgiving.  I'm crossing my fingers and hoping he says yes but I'm prepared for a "no", just in case.  

On Friday afternoon I'm heading to the river for a fun and relaxing weekend with my Sunday School girls!  Mom is coming with me and there are about 16 of us total who will be spending the weekend at our Sunday School teachers' river house.  It's going to be a PJs, junk food, bon fire, girl talk, relaxing kind of weekend and I am SO excited!!!  We've been planning this for several months and I'm so glad it's finally here!  Kyndall and Matthew will have a daddy/daughter weekend while Mom and I have a mother/daughter weekend.  

Just for fun I went back and found a few pictures from Halloween's past.  I can't believe how much Kyndall has grown and changed!!!

2010--Her very first Halloween---Just six weeks old!

2011--Just over a year old

2012--Just over two years old

2013---Just over three years old

Time, please slow down!!